The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Tap to Download for Free

The Turn of the Screw is a horror novella written by Henry James that was first serialized in Collier’s Weekly from January of 1898, until April of the same year before being released in October of 1898 in its collected form. In The Turn of the Screw, a governess charged of taking care of two children begins to experience ghostly phenomenon around the house and grounds of the estate. The book can be interpreted in different ways, which has only contributed to its long popularity.

It has been kept alive over the years by several adaptations across a variety of mediums.

• An opera composed by Benjamin Britten.
• A Broadway play called The Innocents, written by William Archibald.
• A critically acclaimed 1961 film called The Innocents.
• A 1971 British horror film called The Nightcomers.

If you want to do a deep dive into the text, the Norton Critical Edition is a great place to start. The Haunting of Bly Manor by Netflix is a more recent adaptation of the book.

Links

Tap the icons to see the GitHub source of the book, the Wikipedia entry for the book, and page scans from the Internet Archive, HathiTrust, or Google Books.

Audiobook

Some of you might prefer to listen to the book, or get it from a different source. I release each chapter as an ad-supported podcast (one ad at the beginning, and one at the end of each chapter). If you're interested in getting the book through sources you're already comfortable with, you can find those here as well. Your purchase helps support further creation.